The Timescape Adventures II: Life and Death
by Liquidrockman
Summary: The Doctor is back in the next installment of the Timescape Adventures! After escaping Amestris, the Doctor finds himself stranded in Death City for no apparent reason. But is there a motive to the madness? Why is the Doctor stuck once again?
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hey, Guys! So, in case you couldn't guess, this one is set in... *Drumroll* Soul Eater! Voted by popular choice, and brought up by (semi)popular demand, The Timescape Adventures is back!**

"Crap!" Maka yelled as she was thrown backwards by the oncoming attack. Dirt and bruises dotted her face and body. "The Kishin egg had done a good job of wrecking up the place." she said through exhausted pants. "Death City doesn't need this any more that we do."

"No kidding." The scythe in her hands said. The scythe was in fact her partner, Soul Eater. The two of them were students at the Death Weapon Meister Academy, or DWMA. They had been sent on a mission in order to collect the souls of those who had strayed the path of humanity, and developed into what they called Kishin eggs.

Maka Albarn, meister. Her skills are preceded by those only of her mothers. Her hair was pulled into two pigtails, now tattered and ruffled from the fight. Her clothes, a white shirt with a yellow vest, plaid skirt, Buckle-up boots, and black trench coat pulled over it all, were ripping and tearing at the seams all over. She let out a soft whine.

"Aawww man... this was my best coat, too..." she griped, as the Kishin egg came flailing at her. A horrid sight, Kishin eggs. Each soul contorted under the pressure of madness in different ways. This particular one had spikes sticking out all over his body, even his ponytail. Its large, grotesque mouth twisted into a pointed smile as it continuously brought down an onslaught upon the worn out meister. The only thing stopping Maka from being crushed was the scythe in her hands.

Soul Eater Evans, weapon. Quite a few people in this world are gifted with a special ability to transform themselves into a useable, most of the time lethal weapon. Soul Eater was a large steel scythe with a red-grey jagged pattern down the blade and an eye shaped pennant on the top hilt of the weapon.

"Watch it, Maka!" Soul yelled down at her fading meister. "Don't push yourself!"

"Right!" She huffed and jumped back in an attempt to dodge. "Hey, Soul. I think it's about time to..."

"End this?" Soul finished.

Maka smiled as she crouched down lower, ready to strike. "Exactly." She jumped up high into the air, let loose a piercing war cry, and brought the scythe down upon the Kishin eggs head. After a second or two, the Kishin egg feell in half, but didn't hit the ground. Rather, its body twirled up like a ball of tape, and twisted until a red spotted soul popped out.

" 'Bout time I had dinner." Soul yelled as he jumped out of Maka's hands, and back into human form. He was an average looking kid, if average had white hair, red jeans, a yellow sweatshirt, and a decorated headband. He reached out and grabbed the soul, and in one fell swoop, stuffed the soul into his mouth and chewed. He swallowed, and let of a hefty sigh of relief.

"You sure do enjoy souls, dont'cha?" Maka asked.

"Yeah... it's kinda like that feeling you get after you eat a really good meal." Soul described. He grew a mischievous glint in his eye. "Makes me wonder what human souls would taste like..."

At this, Maka brought her opened hand down hard on Soul's head. "You Know were not supposed to eat human souls, or else we'll end up just like the Kishin!"

"Relax, Maka. I was just joking." Soul rubbed the new bump on his head, when he looked up at the now setting sun, its mischievous and creepy face giving out a fading laughter. "It's getting late. Think we should head back?"

"Sounds good." Maka said. The two of them set off for home, when Maka stopped. "Soul, wait." Soul stopped in half a step, and perked up. "Feel that?" Maka asked.

"What is it?" Soul asked quietly.

"I don't know, but I just had a terrible feeling about it."

"What kind of 'terrible'?"

"Like something big is about to descend on Death City, some_one_ big..."

Soul shrugged. "Whatever. Seems kinda uncool to worry about that kinda stuff. let's head out." Soul waved for her to catch up.

"Okay." Maka took one last look around, then ran up to catch up with Soul.

Nearby, in the shadows of a dark alleyway, a faint light slowly faded away to the sounds of metallic _Vwoorp_ing, and the sign barely illuminated by the light read, "Police Public Call Box".


	2. The Star has Arrived!

"Yahoo!" Black Star called out as he ran up to Soul and Maka in the less-than-crowded assignment hallway, where everyone looked on the board to receive their graded missions or 'assignments'. "We're back! Sorry to take you away from me for so long."

"Its fine Black Star." Maka said. "We actually just got back from a mission ourselves."

"Yeah, so keep your pants on, 'superstar'." Soul said as he nonchalantly walked over to the flashy 'superstar' and gave him a formal fist-pounding.

Black Star. The last remaining ninja of the Star Clan. He wore a sort of white-on-black Shinobi outfit, with white-gray trimmings and black boots. His blue hair was done up in a star-like pattern. But the only thing more obnoxious than his outfit was his attitude.

"Well, this 'superstar' is gonna surpass God one day." Black Star jerked his thumb towards his chest as a statement to his stardom. "Once I make my partner a Death Scythe by letting her eat 99 Kishin egg souls and a witch's soul, then I'll prove my stardom!"

"We know that, Star." A gentle voice came from behind Black Star. His weapon, Tsubaki. With her style of outfit matching his, but only with a more tan-to-black color scheme, and her hair done up in a ribbon-like ponytail, her beauty was only second to-

"Black Star." Black Star said dramatically. "The only name you need learn to get far in this world."

As the team was laughing and appraising Black Star, the loudspeakers rang in the hall, and a clownish voice rang out. _"Team Albarn and Team Star to the Death Room, Please."_ The four exchanged looks of confusion fixed by nervousness.

"What could Lord Death want with us?" Soul said, raising his hands behind his head in a cool-kid fashion.

"Maybe he wants to admire my amazingness!" Black Star said with a pose.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't feel right." Maka said. She had that same feeling as from the night before during her and Souls Kishin hunt mission.

"One way to find out." Soul said, and he began walking down the hall, motioning for the others to follow. The group gave an approving nod and set off.

* * *

"Hey! Hey-a! Hi!" Lord Death said, clapping his big white blocky hands together. The big, black, angular mass with a skull mask and a ridiculous voice standing before the teams was the proprietor of the DWMA and Death City, Lord Death. "How's it hanging?"

"Well... you called us for something." Maka said.

"I'm sure he was just lonely without me-" Black Star's rant was interrupted by Lord Death bringing his hand down firmly on Black Stars head.

"No, Black Star. That is _not_ what I needed." Lord Death said, bobbing around happily.

"So... What do ya need?" Maka asked.

"Hmmmm... I want to give you all something."

"What's that?" Soul asked.

"An expulsion notice." Lord Death chanted. At this, everyone stopped dead. The whole group collectively dropped their jaws as far as they would go. Lord Death just bounced around. "Just kidding. Ya ya!" Sighs of relief filled the room. "But seriously, I have a mission for all of you."

"Mission?" Tsubaki's ears perked up.

"Ya! A special assignment." Lord Death pulled his blocky hand out from under his black cloak, and threw them the photo in his hand. "This man has been spotted around the city a few times. But he doesn't show up on the registry."

"So maybe he's from out of town..." Soul suggested.

"Let me rephrase that: he doesn't show up on _any_ registry." Lord Death said warily.

"How?" Maka asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Black Star said in confusion.

"It means that I checked with all the other Death Scythes that watch out for certain areas the world, and he's never been seen before anywhere." Lord Death explained. "No birth records, no family, no anything!" He snapped his angular fingers for effect.

"So he... doesn't exist?" Tsubaki asked.

"Ya! He didn't exist until a few days ago. We've received some eyewitness reports of him popping up around the city at random times and at random places."

"So... you want us to track him down?" Black Star said, raising his fist to his palm.

"Just bring him to me." Lord Death said. "I need to have a word with him."

"Got it." Everyone said.

"Oh, and Maka?" Lord Death called.

Maka glanced backwards. "Yeah?"

"Do be careful. Or else..."

"Or else what?" Maka asked.

"You might need a _doctor_."


	3. The Doctor Returns

**A/N: The Doctor finally makes his appearance!**

Four days. It had been four temporally relevant days since the whole Alchemy incident. The Doctor should have been home by now.

So where _was_ he?

"Could it be something with the trans-temporal manipulators? Or maybe the deharmonium energizer phases are out of line?" The Doctor rambled to himself like a crazy person. He pulled three levers, flipped up a panel and punched in some coordinates, and slammed down on the console with his fist. The TARDIS shook and rocked about like a ship in a hurricane. "Maybe it's a distress call or a temporal anomaly." He ran up to the TARDIS doors and pulled them open. He was met with disappointment and the exact same alleyway that he had attempted to escape. He ran back in and repeated the process. He ran out to find himself in a different alleyway... in the same city.

"Oh no you _don't_!" He yelled as he ran back in. He began to punch in something new, when he stopped and slumped over on the console, full of defeat. "Why?" He said with disdain. "Why?"

He paused, a new thought entering his head. _I'm missing something. Something important._ He paced about and focused on the problem. "What is it?" He stopped dead. "Yes!" He ran up to the console and punched in newer coordinates, and the TARDIS shook and rocked. He opened the doors and found himself in a town square. Same city. "Yes! This must be a fixed point in history! And whatever is about to happen has enough temporal weight to draw the TARDIS off course into _this_ city." The Doctor jumped for joy in the middle of the public square. "So now I know why. Only one thing missing: What?"

"There he is." Someone called from behind the Doctor. He swiveled around to find two kids holding weapons and wearing 'spunk' clothes running up to him.

" 'Allo! Problem? You lost?" The Doctor asked, trying to play innocent. After all, he hadn't done anything. Yet.

"No. We were sent here to collect your soul!" A kid with blue hair yelled flashily.

The Doctor just frowned. _Great,_ He thought, _Cult activists. _

"Black Star! Were not here to do that!" The chain sickle in his hands called out.

The boy apparently called 'Black Star' scoffed. He looked towards the girl holding the scythe. "You got me, Maka?"

"Yep." The girl called 'Maka' said. The two of them sprang into action and surrounded the Doctor. "Just come with us." Maka yelled. "We just need you to come and see our friend for a moment."

"Okay. Just let me step back into my... box so I can get ready to come with you." The Doctor began to walk towards his TARDIS, but Black Star stopped him.

"You're not going anywhere unless it's with me." Black Star exclaimed.

"Oh, well, can't I get a say in tha-" The Doctor was cut off by the Chain sickle being held up to his neck.

"Care to say anything else?" The sickle cried out.

The Doctor eyed the chain sickle strangely. "Your weapons can talk." he said sheepishly.

* * *

"Hey! How are ya?" Lord Death exclaimed as the teams brought their prisoner into the Death Room. Almost like the TARDIS, this bigger-on-the-inside room was lined as far as the eye could see with metal cross graves. "So... who are ya?"

"I'm... the Doctor." The Doctor was looking around at the room around him. _Lots of space_, he thought.

"Your name." Soul said coolly. "Not profession."

"The Doctor." The Doctor said.

"Doctor _who?_" Black Star asked, stupefied at his response.

"The Doctor. Just the Doctor." The Doctor said. "So... what is this place?"

"You're in the Death Room!" Lord Death piped up cheerfully.

"No, no. Not this place. Where _am_ I exactly?" The Doctor inquired.

Everyone looked confused. Everyone... but Lord Death. "You're in Death City, a city founded by me, Lord Death. I created this city as a peaceful place and a watchtower over the world in order to stop the rising of the Kishin." Lord Death wobbled cheerfully.

"Okay. Any... major events? Temporal anomalies?" The Doctor asked. "Have you met a man by the name of Kr'ctaal?"

"No, no." Lord Death said. "Nothing bad happened. We've already stopped the Kishin twice already. Once by me, a few hundred years ago, and once by our resident Maka Albarn," Lord Death gestured to the girl in pigtails next to the Doctor, "who stopped him from rising just recently."

"Oh." The Doctor looked squarely at Lord Death. "And who is this Kishin fellow?"

"A man -my friend and death scythe- who dived deep into madness by consuming the souls of humans." Lord Death approached the Doctor slowly. When he finally reached him, no one was prepared for what was next. "And speaking of friends..." Lord Death took the Doctor and hugged him with his big block hands.

Everyone practically fainted. Soul got up off the floor in a furious rage. The Doctor was just stupefied.

"YOU MADE US TRACK DOWN THIS GUY SO THAT YOU COULE GIVE HIM A HUG?!" Soul yelled.

"What's going on?!" Black Star yelled in unison with Soul's ranting.

"Now now. Let me explain." Lord Death let go of the Doctor. "You see, back when I was still a young Reaper, I met this man. He knew so much about me, but I knew nothing about him. He helped me with so much, and he also told me that the next time he would see me, he would not remember me."

"Why?" Maka asked confusedly.

"He just said, 'That's the way time works.' He _is_ a time traveller, after all."

Again, everyone fainted.

"Time traveller?!" Maka shouted.

"Ya ya! Time traveller... Time Lord... Alien..."

"This can't be real!" Soul said angrily.

The Doctor wasn't paying attention. He was rubbing his chin in deep thought. "But if you know all that... and I never met you... that means!" the Doctor jumped up, startling everyone around him.

"Now ya getting it!" Lord Death exclaimed.

"Oh, we're clever!" The Doctor ran towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Tsubaki asked hectically.

"To the TARDIS!"


	4. To the Past We Go!

"To the TARDIS!"

"The _What_-Is?" Black Star asked as he and the entourage of children followed the Doctor outside the Death Room.

"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space" The Doctor explained, dashing down the hallway. "In short, it's a time machine and spaceship that I travel the universe in." The Doctor stopped and shook his head. "I must sound daft right now."

"Very." Soul said.

"So what's the big deal with this..." Maka couldn't believe that she was about to say this. "...time-traveling stuff?"

"Glad you asked!" The Doctor started. "Y'see, I'm a time traveler. And things don't particularly happen to me in the right order." The Doctor ran down the steps that led up to the school. "I might meet your future self, and you might have met my past self in two different times."

"So you've met Lord Death already?" Tsubaki asked.

"Well... He's met my future self, but I'm about to go and meet his past self, so that way his future self can point me to his past self..."

"Mind blown." Soul said quietly.

"It's all sort of... timey-wimey when you think about it." The Doctor stopped at a street corner to check where he was.

"Timey-wimey?" Maka looked confused.

"Ah! There she is!" The Doctor trotted up to his blue police box. "Right where I left her!"

"This is your big time machine?" Black Star tapped the wood on the side. "Doesn't seem too... machiney..."

"Oi!" The Doctor snapped at Black Star. "She's not much, but she's mine!"

"Well, no matter how you slice it, it doesn't seem very much like a space ship." Soul leaned up against the doors of the TARDIS.

"Yeah... on the _outside_..." The Doctor snapped his fingers, and the TARDIS doors swung open, causing Soul to fall into the TARDIS. Soul cursed and rubbed the back of his head, but stopped as he observed the inside. The _bigger-on-the-inside_. "Wha..."

"Time machine! Space ship!" The Doctor exclaimed, stepping over Soul and running up to the center console. "Anywhere in time and space!" He spun around the console like a child around his presents on Christmas day.

"This... this is..." Maka and the others were at a loss for words. The Doctor just ran around the console again and again, scanning and fidgeting with the many complex instruments and levers on the console.

"Yeah... it is." The Doctor puffed up with pride in his old girl. "Alright, you've had you're looks, now out!" The Doctor shooed the two team out the door.

"What?! Why?" The meisters and weapons pleaded.

"I'm going back on someone's personal timeline. If anything happens to the past, any of you may not have ever come to the DWMA, or maybe even have ever existed." The Doctor stood in the TARDIS doorway explaining the dangers.

"And that's... bad, right?" Black Star asked.

"Very. And I already have enough on my conscience." The Doctor's face grew solemn, and then snapped back to cheerful again. "Right then! Better get going!" He shut the doors, and poked his head out them again. "By the way, stick around for this next part. Most people love it." He closed the doors and ran up to the console. He pulled a lever, spun a ball-bearing, and pumped a sort of bicycle pump looking lever. The center tube sprang to life and began pulsing with light and the classic _Vwoorp_ of the TARDIS. The kids outside of the TARDIS watched in awe as the TARDIS' top-light blinked and the whole of the blue box slowly faded out into thin air.

"Where is he?" Tsubaki asked in shock.

"I guess... in the past." Maka said.

* * *

The TARDIS rocked and shook about, and came to an abrupt stop. The Doctor ran up to the door and swung them wide open with exitement. He stepped out to a wide, grassy plain. Trees dotted the background in the distance. "Oh... how far back are we?" The Doctor began talking to himself. "Now that I think about it, probably should have asked when exactly Lord Death and I had met..." The Doctor's thought was interrupted by something poking his back. Something sharp and dagger like.

"Who are you?" The strange voice came from behind, pressing the weapon into the Doctor's back. The voice was clearly male. It was deep. And menacing. "How did you get here?"

"Oh, I'm just... a traveller..." The Doctor's mind was racing. How could he escape this one?

"Traveller, huh?" The mystery man scoffed. "No one travels 'round these parts."

"Tell me... what year is it?" The Doctor asked.

The man seemed puzzled by the Doctors question. "What kinda question is that?"

"I need to know." The man told the Doctor the year. The Doctor smiled. "Alright. One more question. Do you know anything about a guy named Lord Death?"

The man seemed to pause at that name. He let up the dagger from the Doctor's back. "How do you know Lord Death?"

"Oh, so you do know him then?" The Doctor asked smugly.

"I'm part of his personal guard. And you seem to be a threat." The man dug the dagger back into the Doctor. "And threats must be neutralized."

"Look." The Doctor began to plead. "Just... let me talk to him. I have information that may be important to him."

"Not a chance."

"Please. He may be in danger." The Doctor pleaded. His only other hope was the TARDIS sitting just barely 5 paces behind the two of them.

The man eyed the Doctor suspiciously. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because... I've got a very honest face."

"You're testing my patience." The man was about ready to stab the Doctor.

"Look. If I'm lying, then you can kill me where I stand. Sound like a plan?"

The man considered this for a moment. He pulled the dagger out from the Doctor's back and spun the Doctor around to meet him face to face. The man was sporting gray-black hair and almost lifeless grey eyes. He wore a black tank-top and black sport pants, over all of which he wore a tan bandage-like scarf, which the man kept flipped up to conceal part of his face. "Like you said, if you're lying, I'll strike you down."

The Doctor nodded. "Will do. Now... where is Lord Death?"

"This way." The man motioned in the direction which he ambushed the Doctor from.

"By the way... I never did catch your name." The Doctor stated. The man eye him suspiciously and almost hatefully.

"It's Asura."


	5. Death and Death Again

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I'm late with this chapter, but I've been busy with school and the Holidays. But in any event, Happy Holidays!**

_Left. No, right! No! Left again! NO!_ Kid's mind raced as he was staring down a portrait of Lord Death's skull mask. He fidgeted in place as his head began to spin and his brain had a meltdown.

"Kid. Kid! _Kid!" _ A girl shook him vigorously. "C'mon, Kid! Snap outta it!"

"S-s-ym-m-metry-y-y..." Kid mumbled to himself. The kid was actually Lord Death's son, Death the Kid. He maintained his hair in a well kept, perfect haircut, had a three-piece suit adorned with the same silver skulls all around, and above all else, he had a horrible addiction: symmetry. He couldn't live without perfect symmetry. Despite this, he still was not aware of the obvious that the three white stripes on his hair-do's left side made _him_ asymmetrical.

"For the love of... Hey! Patty!" The girl yelled to the other room. "Kid's having a meltdown!"

"Really?" Another girl ran into the room and stood right beside the one girl. They were the twin sisters Liz and Patty, Kid's weapons. They both had chestnut brown hair and eyes. They both also wore the same red striped tank top and short shorts. The only differences were that Liz was older and longer hair framed her face. Tough break for Mr. Symmetry.

"He won't seem to stop this time." Liz pressed her finger to her temple and grimaced. "Can you do anything about it?"

"Sure!" Patty ran up to the wall, examined the portrait, and kicked the wall underneath. Liz and Kid seemed to go into a state of frantic shock, but Kid stopped.

"Actually... that looks pretty good." Kid relaxed and spoke coolly. "Thank you as always, Liz and Patty" Kid seemed to speak like a completely different person.

Liz just sighed an annoyed sigh. "Anyways... we got a mission from Lord Death."

Kid turned his attention to Liz. "My dad sent us a mission?"

"Yeah!" Patty chimed in. "But it seems kinda weird, though."

"How so?" Kid walked to the wall and began to examine the symmetry of the room.

"It says were supposed to meet someone." Liz took out the small paper with the request on it. "And it's supposed to be in the middle of nowhere."

Kid finished his examination. "Where, exactly, is that?"

"Somewhere in Europe..."

"Alright, then." Kid walked to the front of his house and checked out the window in the center. He stepped outside the double doors, took a deep breath, and said, "Beelzebub." Almost immediately, a finely decorated skateboard appeared instantaneously before him. He stepped on, and looked back at Liz and Patty, still standing in the house. "Coming?"

"Right!" The two sisters yelled. Both ran towards death, and jumped into the air. As they came down, they transformed into two silver handguns. Kid caught the guns in his hands, pinkies on the triggers.

"Then let's go!" Death kicked the board, and the wheels sprang to life with a thrust, pushing Death the Kid into the air and towards the east.

* * *

Always the prisoner. Why couldn't people be nicer to strangers that appear in blue phone boxes?

The Doctor readjusted his posture from within the ropes that bound him. "Was this really necessary?"

"Until we know that you're okay, yes." Asura said coldly from atop his lookout perch on the adjacent rocks above. The base-camp for Lord Death and his, for lack of a bette phrase, entourage of bodyguards, was nestled in rough, rocky terrain surrounded by desert-like sand. The six or seven bodyguards in the camp shuffled around restlessly, waiting for Lord Death.

"Who's this guy again?" One woman approached the Doctor, hands on her hips. "And why is he wantin' to see LD?"

"He never gave a name." Asura continued to scout the landscape.

"I told you, it's the Doctor." The Doctor fidgeted slightly.

"Doctor who?" One blond-headed boy spoke up, despite his earphones blaring music.

"Just the Doctor." The Doctor said, almost annoyed. "Why does everyone ask that? It's an ol' question... _too_ old."

"What'chu talking abo-"

"He's here." The woman was cut off by Asura announcing the arrival of Lord Death.

Not even seconds after Asura called for Lord Death's coming, a black mass faded in from the background of sand. As it grew closer, more distinguishable features arose. The Doctor could see Lord Death, or at least the version of him from the past. His black robe was tattered and frayed, while his mask was severely more menacing, being in closer likeness to a real skull. He arrived at the camp and greeted the small group of people waiting for him.

"So.. who do we have here?" Lord Death spoke with a deeper, more rough-and tumble voice.

" 'Allo! I'm the Doctor!" The Doctor attempted to sound normal despite his current surroundings.

"He refuses to give us any information on how he arrived here at our location." Asura spoke into Lord Deaths ear. "I just found him wandering around from outside our base."

"So what's he doing here?" Lord Death leaned in to inspect the Doctor slightly better.

"We don't know. We believe he's an assassin, sent here for you." The blond one spoke up.

"Well, no matter. We'll find out soon enough." Lord Death crouched down to eye level on the Doctor and pressed his still-blocky hands to the Doctor's temples.

"Wait... are you trying to-"

"Soul sync." Lord Death said quietly. As he did, the Doctor could feel the mental probes of Lord death in his mind. He squirmed and shivered in discomfort. _Have to block out memories... TARDIS controls... Universal Base-Codons... My name..._ The Doctor began setting up mental barriers in an attempt to shield sensitive information. Even with all his efforts, Lord Death's consciousness still spread through the Doctors rapidly, and soon, Lord Death knew all about the Doctor. Once finished, Lord Death broke off from the Doctor and stepped back a few steps. Stunned gasps escaped from underneath his mask. "How could you... What did you..."

"Is he dangerous?" The woman asked.

"Untie him, now." Lord Death barked. His bodyguards objected strongly.

"But he could be here to-"

"I know why he's here." Lord Death said knowingly. "And the Soul Sync never lies. It searches a persons very soul, and all their intentions along with it." After he had been untied, the Doctor stood up, only to be pulled into the embracing hug of Lord Death. "Oh, you poor poor Time Lord. To have to make the choice that you did..." If Lord Death wasn't wearing the mask, the Doctor could have sworn he was crying.

"Yeah. And now you know why I'm here." The Doctor escaped Lord Death's grip. "But I don't."

"Well, for whatever reason you are, it can't be good." Lord Death's voice seemed to fill with an edge that put all his bodyguards on high-alert.

"Yeah. But what could it be?" The Doctor pushed his hand through his hair, but stopped and turned. "Do you hear that?"

"No, what is it?" Lord Death's voice seemed exited the prospect of danger.

"Sounds like a temporal transition-loop feeding back onto a fixed spatial field... which means..." The Doctor looked up and froze. "_Everyone get DOWN!_" The Doctor yelled. As he did, a bright light filled the sky above, turning it a blood red color, and a huge, ear-shattering explosion erupted from the center. A large sonic boom slammed down to the ground, and a huge gust of wind ripped up the surrounding landscape. The Doctor, Lord Death, and the group had to hang on to the surrounding rocks for protection. As the commotion began to die and sand began to settle, the Doctor could see a shining silver mass falling from the sky. He stopped and made a face of horror. "No... can't be!"

"What is it Doctor?" Lord Death yelled, picking himself up from the rock he held on to.

"When I came through the tear, I never thought they would follow..." The Doctor's voice quivered with a mixture of fear and anger.

"Who, Doctor? _Who?_"

"_Cybermen!_"


	6. Cyber Time

**A/N: And so, by certain request, some of the Doctor's best enemies make their appearance.**

"_Cybermen!_"

"What-men?" Lord Death asked, still brushing the dust off his black cloak.

"Terrible creations." The Doctor said, fists clenched. "Humans. Stuck in a suit of metal and cut off from all emotion. They believe in a monotone world, free of pain, fear, happiness, and creativity."

"Well, not while _I'm_ still reaper!" Lord Death coiled into a striking position, ready to attack, but the Doctor motioned for him to stop.

"Wait." The Doctor said. "Maybe... Just maybe..." The Doctor's voice trailed off.

"Maybe what?" Asura was already stood up and once again on lookout, this time toward the impact crater.

"Come on, I want to see something." The Doctor pulled himself out from the little crevice that their base was sheltered in and began walking towards the impact crater. Lord Death and company followed. As the Doctor walked, restless thoughts began to intrude into his mind. _What if they found a way from the void? Why in this universe? Where did I put my tempo-tie? _When he reached the edge of the deep crater, all of the Doctors questions were answered.

And the Doctor smiled.

"Oh, of course!" The Doctor jumped and slid down the crater wall, and ran up to the silver pill-shaped pod in the center. "How could it not be that? That's brilliant!"

"What is?" Lord Death and the others slid down to catch up to the Doctor.

"Cybermen!" The Doctor exclaimed, running around the capsule.

"Yeah... what'bout 'em?" The woman asked.

"This is an emergency escape pod from the 22nd Cyber Legion. They must have been attacked, and this is the survivors." The Doctor stopped and knocked on the side of the pod. No response. "Yes! They're in hibernation mode until they think it's safe to come out."

Lord Death inspected the pod suspiciously. "How'd they get here?"

"A crack in time and space." The Doctor said. "Tons of them happen every second. It's a part of nature. But this one was big enough to accommodate the pod!"

"But what's that got to do with anything?"

"I'll show you." The Doctor ran up to the side of the pod, pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and began buzzing the side of the pod. He puled off a panel and showed everyone the complicated circuitry inside. After everyone was finished gaping at the futuristic technology, the Doctor searched around until he found one circuit in particular that was beeping and flashing. "See that?" The Doctor pointed towards the flashing circuit. "That is a subwave emergency beacon. That must have been what drew my TARDIS off course into your world. And that must be the reason why I can't leave." The Doctor began poking and prodding at the circuit. "It has enough power to stabilize the phasers and draw me down to Death City."

"What City?" Lord Death asked.

"Oh, city in the future you'll know soon enough. But the power level of this circuit is staggering. So much so that..."

The Doctor froze. "...that the only way that they could sustain the circuit is if they were within proximity..."

"Of what?" Asura came up from behind the Doctor.

"Of the city itself. As in, _right below_ the city itself."

The Doctor scrambled up the cliff and hit the ground running full sprint back to the TARDIS just beyond the camp. "That means everyone at the school is in danger!" The others raced after him and called for him to slow down, but the Doctor couldn't stop. He reached the TARDIS, jammed the key into the lock, ran inside, slammed the door, and rushed up to the console. He typed in the temporal coordinates and hit "View Time" on the monitor. It showed Death City as it was when he left it. "Now let's adjust the temporal vector by..." The Doctor furiously punched keys on the console. As he did, the monitor showed Death City reversing in time, slowly at first, but sped up as it went. It showed the city from present to the grand opening to the construction. "There!" The Doctor stopped the rewind. In the image, he saw the silver pod just barely sticking out above the sand as the construction began.

"Doctor!" Lord Death yelled from outside the TARDIS doors.

The Doctor raced up to the doors and flung them open. "Sorry, but Death City is in danger. You'll understand in the future." The Doctor shut the doors and stepped towards the console, but stopped and turned towards the doors again. He poked his head out and smiled. "By the way," he said, "Next time you see me, I probably won't remember who you are. Sorry 'bout that. Timestreams are a little confusing." He shut the door, ran up to the console, and once again began to work his Time Lord magic on the TARDIS. The engines started up, and the blue box that lay before Lord Death and his friends slowly faded away to the sounds of _Vwoorp_ing. Asura only sighed.

"What _was _that?" He asked.

"That, my friend," Lord Death said, "was the best kind of madness."

"Madness?" Asura asked.

"Madness with a blue box."


End file.
